GDT: #74 ⋅ SJS @ ANA ⋅ 7:00 PM PDT
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That PP was just beyond brutal, totally mis-using guys on there. I mean what are they thinking. What are they being told to do?
MMC
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Hope you’re good with waiting an hour (it’s worth it)Just glanced at their menu. Woah, yeah I think I'm going to try that tonight. Good recommendation!
Terry Yake
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Hockey Duckie
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Yeah I keep going back to that 5 on 3 in my head. Like they obviously made an adjustment. Two guys behind the net with Leo as the net front screen (for some inexplicable f***ing reason especially considering how many flubbed passes there were on that sequence) and it's like okay fine, yeah getting a puck down low in the corner could make the defenders panic but everyone was still just standing around, passes and shots were still slow, guys were still overthinking everything and bungling simple passes.
Like it's game 74. When Cronin was asked to identify what's plaguing the powerplay he defended Clune as a hard worker and said the problem is we're not shooting the puck enough. He didn't say shit about the non puck carriers being too static and the puck movement being too slow. So I have to assume the lack of movement, this deep in the season, is intentional and not something that the coaches just can't get out of the players. This many games deep, if it was a concern of theirs we'd see the team at least attempt a different approach but it's been the same shit all year long.
Maybe Cronin gets to keep his job but Clune needs to go. Without question.
Deuce22
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Poor effort tonight but somehow got the win. McTavish is becoming a beast. Cronin doesn't know who his best players are, just reverts back to "vet trust." 5 on 3 PP was horrid-5 one timers by McTavish and no other plan.
Most of the kids were not great though. LaCombe and Mac had good games. Zegras had good moments. Colangelo had good moments. Zellweger had some solid defensive breakups. Helleson was fine. Minty was meh. Leo and Cutter were bad.
Deuce22
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Ducks are out of the playoff chase yet vets are still playing a ton of minutes and being featured. What are we doing? Strome on the 5 on 3 and starting overtime? Gudas and Trouba playing a ton of minutes. What is the plan for the rest of this season?
CrazyDuck4u
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Hockey Duckie
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Curious why Colangelo wasn't a net front presence on the PP more often, since a lot of his goals are because of his net front presence? I did see Mac launch a bunch of one-timers on the PP that I think his arm broke on his last one-timer attempt. Problem was the Sharks goalie saw it all happening, which made it easier to defend.
The young players are going to have their ups and downs and most have been playing very well lately. Games like this happen. Less of an excuse for the vets as they were way too sloppy. Overall, there's a lot to be excited about going forward with this team.
On the other hand, how can Cronin continue to keep his job? Terry, Strome, and Vatrano is not working and hasn't been working for awhile. The power play is abysmal. He uses the 4th line too much, at odd times in the game, and against lines they are not suited to play against. His choices in overtime are confusing. And, on top of all of that, they still don't play the right way at either end of the ice. They rely on talent and good goaltending.
On the other hand, how can Cronin continue to keep his job? Terry, Strome, and Vatrano is not working and hasn't been working for awhile. The power play is abysmal. He uses the 4th line too much, at odd times in the game, and against lines they are not suited to play against. His choices in overtime are confusing. And, on top of all of that, they still don't play the right way at either end of the ice. They rely on talent and good goaltending.
Valid question. Strome and Terry on the 5 on 3 was an atrocious decision. Strome and Terry to start OT was an atrocious decision. Cutter kicked off the powerplay the past 4 or so games has been an atrocious decision.
Solid idea. All I know is Leo in that spot is a stupid choice. One of the better passers on the team and one of the better shooters lately, let's park him where he'll almost never touch the puck because le big frame=la big screen=los goals.
SmokeyDuck
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Deuce22
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Developing young guys and finding out what they can do. Giving huge minutes to guys that won't be on the roster when the team is contending is a total waste. These games are an opportunity to speed up the rebuild.
.500 but team looked like they know this isn't a meaningful game anymore
DavidBL
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Actually, pretty sure he said the PP wasn't executing. His solution was to just shoot more, essentially simplifying is how i read it. Maybe its just semantics. :/
Anaheim4ever
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True but I also think SJ matches up better against the Ducks than Boston does because SJ has young centers with a lot of skill. I also think Pasternak (& Marchand before the trade) helps cover up how weak Boston is at C by making his centers look better than they are.
I will defend Terry on the 5-on-3. If he's not out there, there are no right-handed shooters and the power play (somehow) becomes even more stagnant.
Strome being out there is a crime.
All Mighty
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They had a really interesting play at the start of the 5 on 3 where LaCombe and Terry switched up high while the PKers were looking at the guys with the puck on the goal line. It opened up 2 potential one-time options, but unfortunately it went to Terry who can't really one-time the puck. I will try to clip it and post it.
But there's a deeper reason for the lack of execution. It's not like if Cronin commented publicly that the passing isn't crisp and/or high pace enough and the five man unit is too static to challenge the penalty killers it would be some tactical edge to the team's opponents. Anyone with eyeballs can see why this powerplay is not producing and it's not a lack of finish or just poor execution.
I think it's not discussed enough that when a team is shorthanded, that's one less body a goalie has to see past. So when a penalty killing unit isn't disrupted and can largely stay still because the powerplay isn't moving, the goalie has way more time and better sightlines to track and stop pucks. So us listlessly kicking the puck around the perimeter and waiting for a penalty killer to bite and get out of position only to eventually take a shot a goalie has plenty of time to square up to, it's that much harder to score. It's honestly maddening that the static power players issue keeps persisting. What I just described isn't some 4D chess way of looking at the sport. It should be common knowledge to professional coaches in the top league in the world and yet the issue has persisted all season long.
All Mighty
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Hockey Duckie
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That happened to Mac last year and continued to the start of this season, taken off the half wall as a one-timer specialist and put in front of the net. Three seasons ago, Mac was notorious for his blistering one-timer and he notched 7 PP goals. Last year, he only had 4 PP goals. This year, he's got 6 PP goals, but was moved from in front of the net and back out to the half-wall half way through the season to make use of his one-timer once again.
Mac and Carlsson shouldn't be net front presence guys since they do most of their damage away from it. No idea why the PP coach doesn't trust Colangelo more when he's proven he can score ugly or provide better screens. Just like we have no idea Cutter isn't a staple on the PP too.
CrazyDuck4u
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CrazyDuck4u
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Next year you gotta put Terry in the second line with z and Mac t. Colangelo can be on strokes and vatranos wing. Fourth line needs major shakeup
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